The Frozen Heart: Part 4
by OrangeFeels
Summary: {SPOILERS FROM PART 3] Sometimes, somebody shows up that needs your help. Stian and Elsa's trip to The Great Bay was going smoothly, until something happened. Something always happened. Now, for the sake of existence, they will have to uncover a mystery older than anything they've ever faced before. Some Sci-Fi elements, not futuristic though. Plot may get a bit heavy.
1. (Prologue)

Disney's Frozen: The Frozen Heart

Part 4

* * *

Act 1

Prologue

* * *

"Can it be averted?" he asked me, as I desperately punched commands into the console. The air smelled of metal and smoke. I coughed, and tried to answer.

"Maybe... I don't know." I answered.

"Well find out!" he yelled, pacing nervously over the copper floor. The room around me, once curved and circular, was bent and dark. The room shook again as another wave hit. "Hurry!"

"I can't go any faster! At least do something to help!" I said, eyes scanning over the commands on the monitor.

"It's not my job." he spat.

"Are we worrying about this now? Do jobs even matter anymore?" I yelled over my shoulder. The room shook again. "We lost contact with the surface two weeks ago, and haven't heard anything since. We may be the only ones left."

"Don't say that." he grasped my shoulder, and spun me around. "We aren'tthe last ones. You hear me?" he released. I rubbed my shoulder, soothing the pain.

"And if we are?" I asked.

"We aren't."

"But what if we are?!" I prodded.

"_I don't know!_" he screamed, leaning against a small silver table in the center of the circular room. "We need some way to survive..." he said quietly.

"That's why I'm suggesting the other option-"

"The other option isn't safe. Our scientists don't even know if it's possible." he said, rubbing his forehead.

"Our scientists also said these disasters were nothing to be afraid of. Listen, if we just-" I was cut off.

"No! We're not doing it. It's too dangerous."

"It's the only way." I admitted, motioning to the monitor. He approached it, and scanned over the calculations. He muttered something under his breath.

"This isn't right." he said.

"I know. We're not doing this out of fear. We're doing this because there is no other way." I reminded him. He sighed.

"Then do it."

"Really?"

"Whatever it takes. We might be the last ones." he whispered. The room shook again, this time one of the lights went out. They were left in a form of twilight. They were deep underground, and there was no way the catastrophe should be affecting them, but it was. Maybe it spread, who knows.

"When?" I asked, setting the time coordinates.

"I don't know. When it'll be safe. When we can come back without fear of war, destruction, or evil." he said.

"Far future." I said, entering the numbers.

"Will this work?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Be honest." he said.

"Maybe." I said, partially annoyed. The room shook again, rubble falling from the copper domed ceiling this time.

"We don't have much time, how much longer will it take?" he asked.

"A few minutes. Until then, remind me." I said.

"Remind you of what?" he asked.

"Home."

"Well... It's very green. Lush. Remember when we used to run around in the valleys and play that stupid game?" he laughed. I smirked.

"I remember."

"We'd run for hours, trying to catch the tiny creatures. They'd land on our hands, and we'd name them. What did you name your favorite one, again?" he asked me. I had to think for a bit before I remembered.

"Aranae. I named her Aranae." I said.

"That's right. We had good times. Remember our first year of learning?" he asked.

"I had no idea what I was doing."

"Yep. I had to bring you food every morning because you were up late, studying." he said, sitting down next to me.

"That food was never any good." I reminded him. He shrugged. We were both silent for a while.

"How are the calculations going?"

"Nearly done." I said.

"What time did you set it for?" he asked. The room shook again, violently this time. I was thrown off balance, and fell to the ground. "Woah, you okay?" he asked, helping me up.

"I'm fine." I answered.

"You sure?"

"We don't have much time. You know when all of this is over, the world will be different, right?" I asked.

"I know. Very different." he agreed.

"I found one extrude that I could extrude out of possible futures." I explained, "Want to see it?"

"You mean you found an event at a random point in the future, in a random location, pertaining to a random person?" he asked. I nodded. "Why not? It may or may not ever happen."

I obliged, and typed a few commands into the console. The sphere above the monitor vibrated, and lit up. It cast a dim, green light over the whole room. The light shrank into a single shape. A man. This man was the very definition of average. He stood at an average height, and had an average body build. The light focused even more, allowing them to see colors in the projection. Then my entire opinion about him changed. His hair was an icy color, and his eyes were a deep blue. His skin was pale, and he looked confused, as if he were seeing them as well. This man looked like the embodiment of the cold weather in the north.

"Who is this man?"

"I don't know." I answered. "Far future. Or past. Maybe both."

"How long?" he asked.

"Millions of years. Possibly more." I guessed.

"Bring us there." he ordered.

"To his time?" I asked, pointing to the cold, transparent man.

"Yes."

"Why?" I asked.

My partner shook his head, and turned away. "If you can't, I understand. But... He looks different than us. He might not even be one of our species. This gives me what I want. Hope." he said.

"Okay." I answered, and punched a few more commands into the console. A notification popped up on the monitor. It had found the name of the projection. "I have some info on who we need to look for when we arrive." I said.

"What is it?" he asked, climbing into the pill shaped chamber, large enough for one of us. I closed out of the console, and entered another one of the capsules. I typed a few commands into the pad beside me. Maybe this would work after all. I could see all of the possibilities, and how those futures and pasts could emerge from them. That was my gift, since I was a child. And there, one of the possibilities, was him. The one thing we needed to anchor us to this reality was a name. I had received his name, and now we were going to rest until he saw us. When he did, we would awake, and emerge into his world. "What is it?" he asked again.

"The thing we need to tie us to his reality." I said.

"What is it?"

"His name."

"And his name is?" he asked.

"Stian."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Stian

* * *

Stian paced the decks, thinking to himself.

The night sky glimmered with thousands of stars. Millions. Trillions, even more. The waves sloshed against the side of the ship, sending the occasional salty spray into his face.

"Another, sir?" Gus asked. Stian nodded, and the short man threw a small china plate into the air. Stian, without even turning his head, blasted a shot of icy magic towards the tupperware. It shattered, and fell to the deck of the ship, completely frozen.

"Another?" Gus asked.

"No thanks, Gus. You can go back to... Whatever it is you do." Stian said, shooing him away. Gus turned and left, without bowing. Stian wasn't offended, he was exited. Usually people bowed, but since he'd boarded this ship, Phineas, Ezra, and Gus had treated him just like any other passenger. Stian wasn't complaining.

"You seen anything else?" Ezra asked. Stian nearly jumped out of his skin. As for Ezra, he looked like he already had. He was bony and thin, but always had a grin on his face. He wore a long coat, and a top hat.

Stian smiled, "Nothing. What do you think it was?" he asked, intently.

"Not the slightest idea, but if you were to see this personage again, make sure to let me know." Ezra winked. Stian nodded, and headed back below deck. Something was wrong, he could feel it, but he didn't want to get anybodies spirits down. They were all happy, and ready to embark on this trip. Stian had a vague vacation plan in his head, but the ship was headed towards The Great Bay for political reasons. He opened the door to his cabin, and walked in.

"Sorry, I was just talking with-" Stian stopped when he heard quiet snoring. She breathed in through her nose, and let out a little puff of air through her mouth while she was sleeping. Stian and Anna both thought it was adorable.

Stian sighed, as he realized Elsa was asleep. Curled up against her chest, was a small baby. The child had a generous amount of hair now, all of it platinum blonde, like her parent's. The Queen wasn't to adapted to dealing with the waves on the water, and she had felt slightly sick throughout the day. Elsa had mostly stayed down in the cabin, while Stian talked it up with the three men above deck.

He laid down in the bed, and breathed. He closed his eyes, and tried to comprehend what he had seen.

The night before they had left for the trip. Somebody. Somebody transparent, and gold. Stian didn't know who it was, or even if it had actually happened. He had no idea. The gold-tinted reflection in mid-air. Maybe he was another God? Stian had no idea. The stars were doing crazy things that night, too. Stian tried to rule otherworldly visitors out of the list of possibilities, but with the things he had seen, it was perfectly plausible.

Stian realized his thoughts were becoming clouded, and he fell asleep.

* * *

"His name?" asked a voice.

"Stian." another answered, this one being distinctly female.

"What-?" Stian asked, as his vision cleared. He stood in a domed room, about twenty feet across. The room was made completely of copper, or a similar metal. There was a structure in the middle of the room that looked like some sort of podium with glass instead of paper to read from. Stian turned around, and saw something that nearly woke him up.

The man that he'd seen two days ago in Arendelle. He lay upright in the wall, asleep. Stian had been thinking about that face ever since. The woman beside him didn't move at all.

Suddenly, the room shook violently.

Stian was knocked off his feet, and the lights went out.

* * *

A pillow collided with his face.

"Rise and shine!" Elsa sang. Stian sat up. That dream had felt like seconds, but the sun peeked through the floorboards above them.

"What time is it?"

"Ten, and we have a lot to do today." she sat at a mirror, slicking her bangs back against her head, like she often did. She wore a green velvet dress, like something Anna would wear. Neiva lay on the bed, cooing at the ceiling.

"What do we have to do? We're on a ship, with no dignitaries to meet."

"We have to write decrees and send them back to Arendelle." Elsa informed him. Stian never knew somebody this obsessed with work could also be obsessed with having fun.

"How about we loosen up a little?" Stian said, grabbing Elsa by her hips, and twirling her in the air. She giggled, and caught her breath when Stian set her down.

"We will, later. For now, help me go over these." Elsa said, pointing to the bookcase full of scrolls. Stian exhaled, and lowered his head. He walked to the bookshelf, and withdrew a scroll. He unrolled it, and read a bunch of large words.

"Weaselton wants to recall the sanctions? What's a sanction?" Stian asked.

"Deny it. For now. I'm sure Weaselton will offer an apology... Eventually." Elsa said, taking a scroll for herself.

They spent hours going over these scrolls, reading, signing, denying, accepting.

"Hey, Stian." Phineas said, peeking his head through the door. Phineas looked normal, the most average looking out of the three. He was slightly overweight, and wore a suit with a bowler hat. He always carried a traveling back with him, Stian didn't know why.

"Yes?" Stian asked, desperate to get away from these scrolls.

"You'll want to see this." he said. Stian looked to Elsa. She sighed, and smiled.

"Go on." she gave him permission.

Stian squealed, and leapt from his seat, and followed Phineas up to the main deck. He reached the bow of the ship, and Phineas pointed over the edge. Stian peered down, and what he saw shocked him.

There, in the water, was a glowing golden light. It reminded him of the room he had been in while he dreamt. It was even the same size.

"What is it?" Stian asked.

"The people. The people you saw in your kingdom?" Phineas asked. The light grew in intensity.

"I think so."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Elsa

* * *

"What am I looking at?" she asked, peering over the bow. Stian reeled.

"What do you mean?" he scratched his head, and looked over the edge of the ship as well. Elsa motioned to the water. Stian said he had seen something glowing under the surface, and he ran down to fetch Elsa. When she'd arrived above deck, there was nothing. "I don't... Hmm..." Stian pondered as Elsa patted his shoulder. Maybe the ocean was getting to him more than it was to her. "Never mind, I guess."

"Maybe next time." Elsa laughed, as she started back to their cabin.

"Elsa, we may need you up here." Phineas called. Elsa looked over the starboard, that was the right side, of the ship. Another vessel was approaching, and fast. Something was wrong.

"Why are they sailing towards us?" Elsa asked. Phineas removed his hat.

"Black sails." he whispered.

"What?" Stian asked, finally taking his eyes off the water.

"You two, below deck! Now!" Ezra called to them.

"What's going on?" Elsa demanded.

"I knew we shouldn't have dropped anchor here. _I told you,_ Phineas." Gus complained.

"Below deck!" Ezra ordered again. Elsa and Stian both hurried back to their cabin, not knowing what may happen to them.

"What do you think they're doing up there?" Elsa asked, as she soothed the sleeping Neiva. Hopefully the child would stay quiet. She noticed Stian wasn't answering. "Stian!"

"Shh..." he whispered. He propped the door open.

"What are you doing?" Elsa whispered back, a bit angry.

"We've faced worse than pirates before." he reminded her. Elsa was dumbfounded. Of course they had. This would be a walk in the park.

"Stay here." Elsa said.

"No, I'm going to help." Stian insisted.

"You're staying with Neiva. _I'm_ going to go help." Elsa corrected him. Stian looked out of the door, and to Elsa. Then back out the door, and back to Elsa. He sighed.

"Fine. Hurry back."

"Won't be long." Elsa promised, planting a kiss on his cheek. She shut the door behind her, and held her palm to the handle. Frost spread over the metal ring, and the door was sealed shut. Now they wouldn't be able to get to Elsa's family. The Queen hurried above deck, and stared into the light of day. She saw the massive black sails, now directly in front of her. A flurry of chains flew over the boat, latching onto the railings. Slowly, men began climbing up the chains, and boarding the ship from their own frigate.

"Royal business, huh?" one of the men asked, spitting onto the deck.

"Looks like... What is this? Portugal?" another asked.

"The flag isn't even close to Portugal's, idiot." a third yelled.

"It's... Norway... No, no... Arendelle, isn't it?" asked a fourth. All of these men were dressed in old clothes, and stank of sweat and fish. Some had intricate rings and necklaces, as if they cared about jewelry just as much as a proper woman. Elsa wasn't one for super extravagant jewelry, but these things must have been rare. She hated to think who they had gotten them from.

"Wait... Doesn't Arendelle have that... Snow Queen?" the first asked. This one was bald, and was missing a few teeth. He wore an emerald necklace that reflected sunlight against the sails.

When he mentioned the Snow Queen, Elsa grit her teeth.

"I think it does. Let's hope that we don't run into-" the third pirate turned, and faced Elsa directly. "-her."

Elsa grinned, and nodded.

"Hey, uh, Captain?" he said, nudging the second pirate next to him. This one wore a long leather coat, and a leather hat. He was clean-shaven, which Elsa thought peculiar. She had read about pirates, and this man definitely didn't look like one. His hair was short and black, and his eyes were a startling yellow. Elsa realized he was looking at her.

"So we stumbled on the royal fleet of Arendelle, did we?" he looked around. "Where's the rest o' ya?" he asked.

"We came alone." Elsa said, standing her ground. The Captain laughed. What was so funny?

"Ya came alone? Not a smart choice for somebody sailing alone like you." he said.

"I'm not alone." Elsa said.

"I don' see anybody else 'round here." he taunted. Elsa noticed the three men, who were supposed to keep watch over the royalty of Arendelle were nowhere to be seen.

"You have to be kidding me." Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Alright, you just head below deck, and we won't harm you just yet." the first pirate said. The Captain nodded.

"I'm not going anywhere." Elsa said, holding her palm up to the pirates. Her eyes widened as she heard three clicking noises.

"Ah, ah, ah! Ya' got two hands! That means two magics! There's three o' us." the Captain said. He, and the other three pirates each held two revolving guns in Elsa's direction.

That... That wasn't fair.

The Captain grinned. "Now we got yer attention. Alright, Queeny. Show us the goods. Below deck."

"I'm looking at the goods right now, Captain!" the first pirate whistled. Elsa was revolted.

The fourth pirate stood silent, behind the other three. He looked just as scared as Elsa.

"Shuddup, Pete. We're here for the money. We don't work like that." the Captain said. Elsa felt an odd sense of thankfulness. "Alright, open up the door." he said, pointing his guns to the hold. Elsa slowly opened the door to the storage deck. "Go on." he motioned. The three pirates were still a good fifteen feet away from her. Maybe if she...

Elsa ducked inside the door.

"Alright, Pete and John, ya two grab all the supplies ya can, I'll load up on the money." the Captain said. His voice was drawing near. Elsa slammed the door shut, cutting off sunlight from the storage deck. "Hey! Open up!"

"Okay." Elsa said, pressing her palms against the door. A cracking noise filled the air, and the door launched from its hinges, sending the three pirates spiraling into the mast. The fell to the deck, unconscious.

Hey, that was easy. Granted, she would have to replace the door. She heard another clicking sound. The fourth pirate, a boy who couldn't be older than sixteen, had a flintlock pistol aimed directly at her. Elsa held up her palms, still glowing blue with magic.

"You don't want to do that." she warned him. The boy nervously dropped the gun, and held up his arms in surrender. Elsa thought. Fine. She'd take him prisoner. She'd have to have a bargaining chip to make a deal with the pirates. "To the hold." she ordered. She led him into the cabin deck, and down two more flights of stairs to the hold. There were four small cages. She opened one, and motioned for him to enter.

"I'm sorry." he said, nervously.

"You should be." Elsa said, retrieving the key from the post beside her, and locking the cell. "I'll see you later." she promised, angrily.

Now to deal with the others.


	4. (Prologue 2)

I have to apologize, as I will updated less often. I am currently assisting another author with his fiction. More info on that soon.

As of now, check in every 2 days or so.

* * *

Prologue 2

* * *

I pondered many things before I woke. The pod hissed open, releasing a massive amount of cool air. I fell to the floor, and began coughing violently. The room was now dark, rusted, and filled with water deep enough to soak my feet.

"It's over... It's over..." I repeated. I looked at my hands, and sure enough, they were still youthful. Against all odds, the stasis had worked. I heard air hissing beside me, and he fell into the water to my right. He coughed, and squirmed. It hurt.

"We need... We need... Something. Quick. Is there anything left in storage?" he asked. I stood, and approached the now ancient doors. I opened it, only to be met with nothing. Dust.

"Nothing." I confirmed. "What do we do, Cartographer?" I asked. Cartographer sat silent for a few seconds, sitting in the musty water. His eyes lit up.

"Look." he said, splashing his arms around. Oh. I had been too busy with running precautions, I didn't even notice.

"Water." I said, bending over, and scooping some in my hands. I drank it, and it tasted foul. "Liquid water!" I laughed. Cartographer smiled, and splashed in the water like a child. "It had to have worked!"

Cartographer looked at me, and smiled. "Wait... The one thing that tied us to this reality was a man. What was his name?" he asked me. I struggled to remember. We had been asleep for an innumerable amount of years.

"Stian." I finally said.

"That's right. We need to find him." Cartographer stood up, and approached the console. It had been tampered with. "Did you touch the controls?" he asked. I shook my head. "Nobody else could possibly have gotten in."

"How do we find Stian?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Who got in?" Cartographer insisted. I never knew his true name. When we were children, babies even, Cartographer led us through the uncharted woods. When he was to choose a path, he chose cartographer. His name was changed, and my mind was blank. For some reason, since he chose the path of the cartographer, I couldn't remember his true name.

"I don't know." I answered.

"We need to find out." he said, focusing on the keyboard. There were fingerprints. Nothing like ours, but distinguishable. "Track these." he ordered. I approached the keyboard, and placed my palm to the monitor. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing.

"It won't work." I said. Cartographer approached the monitor, and slammed his hand onto the screen. It echoed through the chamber, but the monitor glowed. He had fixed it with violence. I entered the diagnostics of the fingerprints, and the monitor showed us a picture of the world we were now in.

"It's changed." Cartographer cooed. Massive landmasses filled the oceans, unlike the many islands we once had. We called them islands, but once the battles began, the water dried up, and we were left as a wasteland. How had it returned?

"Are you finding the source?" Cartographer asked. My focus broke.

"Yes. I've tracked it... Here." I pointed. The source was in a body of water, moving very slowly.

"A mediocre floating ship." Cartographer squinted his eyes to read the screen. "It looks like the kind that the Lesser Ones would use. Remember them?" he asked me.

"They were heroes. They deserved to live more than we did." I said.

"Some of them did. At least, since we went into stasis. Search for one of them." he said. I typed a command into the module, and waited. To my surprise, a dozen or so confirmations showed up.

"They're... Alive?" I asked.

"The Lesser Ones are still alive?" he asked excitedly.

"Only a very select amount of them are. Odin, Hodur... They're all here." I read the screen.

"If the Lesser Ones survived... Maybe others of our kind survived as well!" he said, excitement rising in his voice.

"What do you want to do with the signal?" I asked, changing the subject again, knowing that we were the last.

"Send any other vessel that is near it, towards the source." he said.

"The vessel may be hostile..." I warned.

"Alter the winds. It shouldn't be that hard." he rolled his eyes. I did as Cartographer said. I found the nearest vessel, and altered the winds immediately around it to send it in the direction of the source. There were four life signs aboard this ship. On the source, there were six.

"What if they are hostile, and destroy the source?" I asked.

"Then we will fish Stian's body out of the sea ourselves. Come, let us watch what happens." he said, sitting down on the rusted chair in front of the monitor. I sat as well.

I didn't know who Stian was, but I hoped for his sake, that he could defend himself. Then a notification appeared.

"Cartographer-"

"Stop calling me that. I'm not a cartographer anymore. I know nothing of this new world." he said.

"What shall I call you?" I asked. He looked at me.

"My name."

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Have you really forgotten? My name has always been the same. It's-" the room shook violently. "I thought we had left the wars behind us?" he questioned me.

"We have. This is different. The monitor is picking up traces of... Oh my." my voice caught in my throat. How was this possible?

"Traces of what?"

"Precursor DNA. Aboard the source."

"What do you mean? How many?" he asked.

"Three. Three people aboard that vessel are like us. They have abilities. Powers. They can help us." I said.

"Well then? Go! Go!" he said. I looked for the control schematics on the monitor, but they were nowhere to be found. It was damaged due to the water. I'd have to fly the ship manually.

"But, listen. There's another thing. Three other people aboard that ship contain Lesser One DNA. What should we do?" I asked.

"Go. We need to find these three. Their powers may help us return to our former glory."

"Their... Powers." I repeated.


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Stian

* * *

He examined the tattoos more than any ordinary man would. They had to mean something.

Adric said they were a map. A map would be great, to lead him to whatever it was that he had seen. But something else may have been there, staring him in the face this whole time. If only he could decode it.

"-No idea." Adric finished. Stian realized that there was a conversation going on around him.

"I'm sorry, what?" Stian asked.

"Oh, Adric was just telling us his story." Gus said.

"What _is _his story?" Stian asked. Everybody groaned.

"You want him to go over it all again?" Elsa asked.

"Sure."

"It's fine, I'll shorten it. When I was a boy, both of my parents died. As you know, I looked for a job anywhere I could. When I found the pirates, they accepted me when I told them that I had mysteriously gotten an alien map tattooed on my back. They let me aboard." Adric said.

"So it wasn't a map at all?" the Captain asked, angrily.

"I don't know. All I know is that nobody knows what it means, and I don't remember getting it."

"And it's not alien. Look." Stian pointed to the collection of dots on his back. Everybody gathered around. "Connect four of the dots... Look, that's nauthiz." Stian pointed.

"Ancient runes. That's an N." Elsa determined.

"Yeah. How would they be aliens if they knew about Nordic runes?" Stian asked.

"They get around?" Phineas suggested. Everybody looked at him for a few seconds.

"No. See, whoever put this message here, they knew about runes. This had to have been a long time ago. When were you born, Adric?" Stian asked, curious.

"I... Um..." he strained to remember. "I'm... seventeen? No, nineteen. I..."

"It's fuzzy, isn't it?" Stian asked. Adric solemnly nodded.

"Elsa, come here." Stian motioned for his wife. He and Elsa stepped aside.

"What is it?" the Queen asked.

"Okay. This isn't a map. It's a translator." Stian said.

"What?" Elsa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, I know. Hear me out. Before finding nauthiz, I found an ansuz." Stian said.

"How are you so familiar with runes? That's an... A?" Elsa asked.

"Yep. A. An N and an A. What does that mean to you?" Stian took Elsa's shoulder.

"It means... That whoever left this message uses really old forms of communication?" Elsa decided.

"And..?"

"And... Their language can be made by connecting the dots on Adric's back?"

Stian snapped his fingers, "Exactly."

"This is crazy, Stian." Elsa decided.

"Crazier than things we've seen before?" Stian asked. Elsa thought for a moment.

"Fine. It's a translator. Can you decode the rest of the word? It can't be N-A or A-N." Elsa said.

"I'll try."

"Great." Elsa turned around and switched to her regal voice, "Everybody, if you'd please, Stian, Adric and I would like to speak in private." she waved her hand around like a Queen.

"Yes, Ma'am." Ezra said, as he dragged the pirates, tied with chains, down below deck. The other two crew mates disappeared behind their skeletal friend. Once they were gone, Elsa spoke.

"Adric, who were your parents?" she asked, looking down at him.

"They were... I think they... Built things." Adric said. Elsa's eyes lit up.

"They built things? What kind of things?" she asked.

"...Houses. They built houses and other shelters for people." he remembered.

"Okay," Stian said, "What were their names?"

"Their names were... They were..."

"You can't remember." Stian said, realizing what may have happened. "Figures. Let me see your back." Stian said. Adric shifted to face away from Stain. The King drew a piece of crumpled paper from one pocket, and a stick of charcoal from the other.

"Why do you keep things like that in your pockets?" Elsa asked.

"For situations like this." he answered.

"Does this happen often?" Elsa asked, as she watched her husband examine another man's tattoo.

"Things like this have been happening my whole life." Stian smiled at the Queen. He traced a few lines on his paper, and scribbled them out. Then again, and again. Then he focused his eyes.

"Got another one." he said, holding the paper up for Elsa to see. She took the paper, and focused.

"Isa. I." she said.

"Right. We've got N, A, and I. Let me... Yep. Another one." Stian announced.

"You're getting a nack for this." Elsa smiled.

"Ehwaz. E." he said. "N, E, A, I." his smile faded.

"What is it?" Elsa asked.

"This might be..." he went back to transcribing the dots in any way he could.

"Might be what?" Elsa asked.

"Come on..." Stian muttered.

"Stian, what is it?" Elsa asked.

"If it's..." Stian muttered more. He felt himself spin around, and was face to face with Elsa. Usually, this was a good thing. Now, she looked extremely concerned, and it made Stian sad.

"What's wrong. Stian?" Elsa asked one last time.

"One second. Promise." he said. Elsa sighed, and let Stian return to work. Stian decoded the final letter, and his heart stopped.

"What's wrong?" Elsa pressed.

"It's wunjo." Stian said, looking blankly at the wooden floor of the ship.

"Wunjo? V." Elsa said.

"N, E, A, I, and V. Elsa, what does that spell?" Stian asked.

"Neaiv?" she guessed.

"They're mixed up. N, E, I, V, A." he said.

"What..?" Elsa asked, her breathing growing ragged.

"The message..." Stian started. Elsa finished his thought.

"It spells Neiva."


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Stian

* * *

He examined the tattoos more than any ordinary man would. They had to mean something.

Adric said they were a map. A map would be great, to lead him to whatever it was that he had seen. But something else may have been there, staring him in the face this whole time. If only he could decode it.

"-No idea." Adric finished. Stian realized that there was a conversation going on around him.

"I'm sorry, what?" Stian asked.

"Oh, Adric was just telling us his story." Gus said.

"What _is _his story?" Stian asked. Everybody groaned.

"You want him to go over it all again?" Elsa asked.

"Sure."

"It's fine, I'll shorten it. When I was a boy, both of my parents died. As you know, I looked for a job anywhere I could. When I found the pirates, they accepted me when I told them that I had mysteriously gotten an alien map tattooed on my back. They let me aboard." Adric said.

"So it wasn't a map at all?" the Captain asked, angrily.

"I don't know. All I know is that nobody knows what it means, and I don't remember getting it."

"And it's not alien. Look." Stian pointed to the collection of dots on his back. Everybody gathered around. "Connect four of the dots... Look, that's nauthiz." Stian pointed.

"Ancient runes. That's an N." Elsa determined.

"Yeah. How would they be aliens if they knew about Nordic runes?" Stian asked.

"They get around?" Phineas suggested. Everybody looked at him for a few seconds.

"No. See, whoever put this message here, they knew about runes. This had to have been a long time ago. When were you born, Adric?" Stian asked, curious.

"I... Um..." he strained to remember. "I'm... seventeen? No, nineteen. I..."

"It's fuzzy, isn't it?" Stian asked. Adric solemnly nodded.

"Elsa, come here." Stian motioned for his wife. He and Elsa stepped aside.

"What is it?" the Queen asked.

"Okay. This isn't a map. It's a translator." Stian said.

"What?" Elsa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, I know. Hear me out. Before finding nauthiz, I found an ansuz." Stian said.

"How are you so familiar with runes? That's an... A?" Elsa asked.

"Yep. A. An N and an A. What does that mean to you?" Stian took Elsa's shoulder.

"It means... That whoever left this message uses really old forms of communication?" Elsa decided.

"And..?"

"And... Their language can be made by connecting the dots on Adric's back?"

Stian snapped his fingers, "Exactly."

"This is crazy, Stian." Elsa decided.

"Crazier than things we've seen before?" Stian asked. Elsa thought for a moment.

"Fine. It's a translator. Can you decode the rest of the word? It can't be N-A or A-N." Elsa said.

"I'll try."

"Great." Elsa turned around and switched to her regal voice, "Everybody, if you'd please, Stian, Adric and I would like to speak in private." she waved her hand around like a Queen.

"Yes, Ma'am." Ezra said, as he dragged the pirates, tied with chains, down below deck. The other two crew mates disappeared behind their skeletal friend. Once they were gone, Elsa spoke.

"Adric, who were your parents?" she asked, looking down at him.

"They were... I think they... Built things." Adric said. Elsa's eyes lit up.

"They built things? What kind of things?" she asked.

"...Houses. They built houses and other shelters for people." he remembered.

"Okay," Stian said, "What were their names?"

"Their names were... They were..."

"You can't remember." Stian said, realizing what may have happened. "Figures. Let me see your back." Stian said. Adric shifted to face away from Stain. The King drew a piece of crumpled paper from one pocket, and a stick of charcoal from the other.

"Why do you keep things like that in your pockets?" Elsa asked.

"For situations like this." he answered.

"Does this happen often?" Elsa asked, as she watched her husband examine another man's tattoo.

"Things like this have been happening my whole life." Stian smiled at the Queen. He traced a few lines on his paper, and scribbled them out. Then again, and again. Then he focused his eyes.

"Got another one." he said, holding the paper up for Elsa to see. She took the paper, and focused.

"Isa. I." she said.

"Right. We've got N, A, and I. Let me... Yep. Another one." Stian announced.

"You're getting a nack for this." Elsa smiled.

"Ehwaz. E." he said. "N, E, A, I." his smile faded.

"What is it?" Elsa asked.

"This might be..." he went back to transcribing the dots in any way he could.

"Might be what?" Elsa asked.

"Come on..." Stian muttered.

"Stian, what is it?" Elsa asked.

"If it's..." Stian muttered more. He felt himself spin around, and was face to face with Elsa. Usually, this was a good thing. Now, she looked extremely concerned, and it made Stian sad.

"What's wrong. Stian?" Elsa asked one last time.

"One second. Promise." he said. Elsa sighed, and let Stian return to work. Stian decoded the final letter, and his heart stopped.

"What's wrong?" Elsa pressed.

"It's wunjo." Stian said, looking blankly at the wooden floor of the ship.

"Wunjo? V." Elsa said.

"N, E, A, I, and V. Elsa, what does that spell?" Stian asked.

"Neaiv?" she guessed.

"They're mixed up. N, E, I, V, A." he said.

"What..?" Elsa asked, her breathing growing ragged.

"The message..." Stian started. Elsa finished his thought.

"It spells Neiva."


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Elsa

* * *

"Well, what do you think it means?" Elsa asked, pacing the room. Stian sat on the bed, confused.

"I don't know. There are no other letters I can make out besides those five." he admitted. Elsa glanced at their daughter asleep in her cot. She watched Neiva's chest rise and fall as she breathed.

"What do we do?" she asked.

"I don't know, do you know? I don't know." Stian said quickly.

"Hey, Adric said that the tattoo's are a map, right?" Elsa asked, sitting down next to her husband. Stian looked at her.

"Yeah..?"

"If we follow the map, maybe we can find some answers." Elsa suggested.

"Of course, I've been thinking that for a while now. But, Elsa, what do you think we'll find once we get to where the map leads?" Stian asked, shifting uncomfortably on the mattress. Elsa sighed, and straightened her green casual dress.

"I don't know. But it can't be worse than anything we've faced before, right?" she asked. She knew Stian had been reassuring himself with that statement since they first encountered the pirates.

It wasn't the amount of danger her daughter may be in the scared Elsa, it was the danger that the all _may or may not_ be in. The uncertainty was killing her. Elsa felt arms wrap around her.

Elsa was immediately brought back to the night she and Stian spent at Wandering Oaken's Trading Post. Elsa just wanted to retrieve something that was thought stolen, get back to Arendelle, and go back to her life. She didn't want to meet any suitors. She _really_ didn't want to fall in love. But, when she started to break down, Stian was right there for her. It was right then that Elsa's close friendship with Stian became something much more. She loved her sister, but Stian was special. She had chosen her suitor.

Elsa couldn't help but begin to cry.

"Stian... I... I'm..." she began. Of course, she couldn't finish.

"I'm scared too." he sighed. Elsa buried her head in his shoulder. All these pent up emotions had been building within her for her whole life. Elsa was glad she had somebody to confide in.

There was a knock on the door.

"Your Majesties..." Gus peeked his bearded head through the door. Wow, he was short.

Elsa composed herself.

"Yes, Gus?" she asked.

"The, uh, pirates." he said.

"What about them?" Elsa asked.

"They seem to have... Gotten away, Your Majesties." he admitted. Elsa and Stian both stood.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"Another thing, they've taken Adric with 'em." he said. Elsa felt the room temperature drop. She knew it wasn't her, so the Queen looked to her husband. She looked into his eyes. She saw anger, fear, and uncertainty. Elsa wrapped her arm around him.

"Well then..." she said, stepping through the door, "Let's go get 'em."

* * *

Ezra rocked the now awake Princess in his arms awkwardly.

"Yer Majesty, why do ya trust me to hold yer baby?" Ezra asked.

Elsa called from inside the captain's cabin, "Because you look like you'd be good with kids."

Ezra straightened up. "Darn right."

"Stian, you ready?" she called again.

"Yep. You?" he asked. Elsa stepped out from the captain's cabin. The three men stared in awe at the Queen.

She still wore her green dress, but she had put on a white casual shirt and black leather vest over it. Over the leather vest a dark long coat. Elsa wore leather boots, and had a large belt around her waist. A piece of icy cloth, the kind that usually made up her cape, hung from her belt. She wore a tricorn hat, and had a sword sheathed, ready to attack.

"You look..." Stian started to say.

"Like a pirate." Phineas finished.

Elsa blushed, "Why thank you. Which direction did they go?" she asked. The men were silent for a few seconds, before regaining their composure.

"Due west, Elsa." Stian answered, pointing. Elsa produced a compass from her belt, and found the boat to be facing north.

"Well then. I guess we're off." she smiled.

* * *

"Okay, what's with the getup?" Stian asked.

"What do you mean?" Elsa pretended to be offended.

"You look like a pirate."

"I know."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Fair enough." Stian put his hands up in surrender. On the horizon, they could barely make out the shape of another ship.

"Is that them, Phineas?" Elsa asked, yelling over her shoulder.

"It is, Ma'am." he responded. Elsa left the bow of the ship, and went to the helm.

"Give me the wheel." Elsa said.

"Your Majesty?" Phineas asked, shocked.

"Just Elsa, gimme the wheel." she said, holding out her hands.

"Do you know how to pilot a ship?" Phineas asked.

"No. I'll learn. Gimme the wheel." Elsa repeated. Phineas cautiously backed away from the wheel, and ran to the nearest lifeboat. Stian joined her side, keeping watch over the waters beside them. "Ready?" Elsa asked.

"For what?"

Elsa extended her hand, and flicked her fingers. A flurry of snow cascaded across the ship, over the bow, and landed in the water in front of them.

"What was that?" Stian asked.

Elsa waited a few seconds, and flicked her fingers again. A trail of solid ice began snaking towards the other ship.

"You're going to freeze them in place, aren't you?" Stian grinned. His smile faded, "How will we fight those pirates, though?" he asked. Elsa thought for a few seconds.

"We'll improvise." she answered.

"How?" Stian asked. This caused Elsa to think again. What would they do when they came face to face with the pirate crew? What if there were more pirates than before. Elsa cleared her head. Improvise. Elsa called for Gus. The Queen pointed to a bottle of rum that sat beside him. She snapped her fingers twice, and the thin man tossed her the bottle. Elsa took a drink, choked, spit it out, and looked to the horizon.

"Drink up me hearties, yo ho."


	8. Chapter 6

Sorry this chapter took a while to upload, but I just finished up with finals! Expect updates more often now.

* * *

Chapter 6

Stian

* * *

After Elsa's little pirate outburst, Stian didn't think he could handle tracking down actual pirates. But, they did. And it wasn't hard at all.

"Now you're going to explain why you ran away." Elsa said, pacing the ship. The men's feet had been stuck to the floor of the ship with solid ice. Elsa was serious about this.

"We don't gotta tell you anything lady." the captain gritted his teeth.

"What's your name, there, captain?" Elsa asked politely.

"What's it matter?" he spat. Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Because this is important. The last time somebody tried to take something important from me..." she looked at Stian, "He's gone for a long time now."

"You think that's supposed to scare me? I know about Hans Westerguard. I know about the Elves, Hodur. Even Fear." he grinned. Elsa's smug grin fled her face. She looked back at Stian, this time with fear. Stian took a step foreword.

"How?" he asked.

"He tells me everything." the captain said.

"He? Who's he?" Phineas asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"He's looking for you three right now. He senses your Precursor DNA. All three of you. The Queen, the King, and the little Princess." the captain said, nearly falling over.

"Precursor?" Stian asked.

The captain's face contorted into one of surprise. "You really _don't_ know anything about this do you?"

"About what?" Elsa stepped foreword.

"It looks like we're ahead of schedule, boys." The captain said. The ice around his ankles melted swiftly into water, and before Stian could react, his back slammed against the deck of the ship. Stian stood up, but was met with a hand clamped around his neck. The hand threw him backwards, knocking him into the railing guarding the bow. Stian wiped the blood from his lip, and looked up.

The captain stood over him, grinning wildly. Elsa lay across the ship, against the door that led to the captain's quarters.

"Why did you-?" Stian was interrupted as the captain made him stand.

"You don't know. I thought for sure you would..." the captain studied Stian. "They found your DNA. You... You aren't calling for their help?" he asked. Stian didn't understand anything this man was saying.

"What are you talking about?" Stian asked.

"He's telling the truth, sir." the bald pirate said. The captain examined Stian a bit longer.

"Get back on your ship. Sail home. Do not tell anybody about what happened on this trip. Or else." the captain ordered.

"Or else what?" Stian asked.

"You obviously haven't looked around." the captain motioned to Elsa's limp body, and their ship, where Neiva was. Stian felt a lump in his throat.

"We can't just discard everything that's happened." Stian said.

"You'll have to," the captain left Stian, and approached the Queen, "She won't remember."

"_What are you talking about?_" Stian begged.

"I'm wiping her memory." the pirate said, placing his palm on Elsa's forehead. Stian limped across the deck, attempting to save his Wife. He stumbled, and fell to the ground. He picked himself up, and continued across the ship.

"How..?" Stian asked.

"I would tell you... But you don't know what's at stake." the captain explained. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me." Stian said.

The pirate turned around and laughed. "You can't understand. Fear was just the tip of the iceberg. You've seen them before, I know that."

"_Who are they?_" Stian yelled. The captain held up his hands.

"I've told you already. Fear, Hodur, the Elves... They all look like angry little children throwing a temper tantrum compared to him." the captain laughed. "I'll tell you what they want. Time."

"They want... Time?"

"They're confused. They don't know where they are, and they need something keeping them anchored to this timeline." the captain explained.

"Timeline?"

"I suppose I should tell you my name. It's Samuel. Remember that. And, yes... Timeline. Theirs ended badly. All they want is a fresh start. But, well, to get a happy ending, they need ours." Samuel said.

"_Who are they?_" Stian asked one last time.

"The ones who put that tattoo on Adric. They're the ones who you saw at the party. They're the ones you saw in that vision of yours." Samuel said, grinning.

"Precursors. But... what are they?"

"So many questions. I'm not going to answer any more. I'm going to leave, and you're going to act like none of this ever happened. Your wife will not know the difference."

Stian reached his wife, and took her in his arms. He carried her back to their ship. Phineas, Ezra, and Gus were nowhere to be seen. He looked back at Samuel, who stood smiling on his ship.

"There's nobody to help you now." he said.

"Sure about that?" came a voice.

Samuel looked upwards, as a dark shape fell onto him. He struggled and flailed, but slowly stopped. The shape stood up and turned to Stian. The person was hooded in a dark cloak, and its face was completely hidden. But Stian knew that voice anywhere.

"Did you kill him?" Stian asked.

"No, he'll wake up soon. You need to get going." the figure said.

"What made you think we needed your help?" Stian focused his eyes.

"Because you did. That man just erased a day from your wife's memory. He would have done more. He stopped for some reason. I think you scared him." the figure held out its arms.

"He spoke about the Precursors." Stian said.

The figure shuddered.

"What are they?" Stian asked.

"They're... Nothing. Nothing we need to concern ourselves with at the moment."

"But Samuel said they were tracking us... He said we had Precursor DNA." Stian explained. The figure cocked its head.

"No you don't. Maybe DNA of the Lesser Ones, but no living person has Precursor heritage. Especially not you, Elsa, and Neiva."

Phineas, Ezra, and Gus emerged from their hiding place in the captain's cabin behind Stian. The figure took a step back.

"Samuel said three traces of DNA earlier." it recounted.

"No he didn't-"

"Not to you... There are only three other people on that ship. When did you meet these three?" the figure asked. Stian shrugged.

"Two days ago, when we left Arendelle."

"Step away from them, Stian." the figure warned.

"Who is this?" Gus asked.

"Stian!"

"A visitor? Why hello-"

"Stian, get over here!" the person shouted. The being's line of sight shifted to Neiva, who rested peacefully in Ezra's arms. It leapt from the pirate ship, into the rigging of Elsa's. The figure moved expertly through the rope, and maneuvered right above Ezra. It swiped the baby away from the sailor, and jumped back to the deck.

"Stay back." it warned.

"What's going on?" Phineas asked.

"They weren't tracking your family, Stian. The Precursors will stop at nothing to see these three men killed." the cloaked being said. It pulled back its hood, exposing its face. The person underneath looked almost identical to Stian, save for his jet black hair and blood red eyes. Those eyes drifted down to Neiva, and his gaze became loving.

"_Nothing."_ Sitna said.


End file.
